Speed control for welding machines



Dec. 13, 1938. A. F. BRUNKOW 2,139,931

SPEED CONTROL FOR WELDING MACHINES Filed March 29, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor Alvin F .Brwnk'ow By 1 M 5m 4 itorneys Dec. 13, 1938.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 f l'nvenior AZZJZ'JI/ Bra/whom l 57 4% e0 a s B 6 zwz 54.. y y 5/ M m Afforneys Patented Dec. 13, 1938 2,139,931

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPEED CONTROL FOR WELDING monmns Alvin F, Brunkow, Alma, Wis.

Application March 29, 1937, Serial No. 133,691

3 Claims. (01. 290-40) My invention relates to improvements in speed struction of the governor are immaterial to the controls for portable power driven welding mapresent invention and therefore need not be enchines. tered into herein. Sufiice it to explain that the By way of explanation, portable welding matype of governors with which the usual welding 5 chines are usually provided with a power plant machines are equipped is settable to predeter- 5 including an internal combustion engine and a mine the speed to be attained by the engine and generator driven thereby, and are frequently is operatively connected to the throttle lever 5 equipped with a governor operatively connected of the carburetor 3 by means of a rocking lever to the throttle valve of the carburetor for con- 6 on said governor and a link 1 connecting said trol of the engine to maintain a uniform speed of lever to the throttle lever 5, as shown in Figure 1. 10 operation of said engine and generator sufiicient The shaft 8 of the generator 9 is connectedto the for welding purposes. As will be understood, it crank shaft In of the engine I by means of the is frequently desirable to out down the engine to coupling II. The generator 9 is grounded on one idling speed, for instance, when the operator is side to the work l2 by means of a lead l3 secured changing his position, changing electrodes, cleanto said work by the usual clamp l4, and extend- 15 ing and preparing welds, or changing from onev ing from said generator into a housing It conjob to another. taining the usual inductor l3 and. variable re- With the foregoing in mind, it is the primary 'sistance I35 interposed in the line of connection object of my invention to provide a practical efbetween said generator and work. The inductor ficient mechanism for controlling the speed of i3 and resistance l3, as will be understood, 20

the engine of such welders either through the serve to stabilize the welding are. medium of the governor or directly by the car- Suitably secured to the engine I, as by bracket buretor throttle valve to throttle the engine down I1, is a control box of any suitable material. to idling speed when welding is not being per- Within the control box I8 is an electro-magnet formed and which may be applied to Welding i9 including the usual core 20 having right an- 25 machines of the type above identified without gled ends 2! and a coil 22 intermediate said ends. necessitating modification of the adjunctive parts The electro-magnet i9 is secured in upright poof the machine. sition to the bottom of the control box l8 by one Another object is to provide speed control of its ends through the medium of screws 23, and

mechanism for the purpose above set forth eminsulation blocks 24 interposed between said end 30 bodying timing means for effecting a gradual re- 2! and the bottom of the control box I8. One end turn of the engine from normal welding speed to of the coil 22 is extended and connected to a idling speed. binding post 25 on the front of the control box Other, and subordinate objects, are also corn- E8. The other side of the generator Q is conprehended by my invention, all of which, tonected to said binding post 25 by means of a lead 35 gether with the exact nature of my improve- 26 extending through the cable 15 and through ments, will be understood when the following dethe housing it. The opposite end of the coil 22 scription and claims are read with reference to is extended to a binding post 26 on the outside of accilmlvanying W rl the control box 98. Intermediate its ends said 49 In d d s: coil is tapped at two different points and con- Figure l is a view in side elevation of a welding nected as by leads 2? and 28 to a pair of binding machine q p cc in to my inven i n. posts 29 and at, respectively, located in the same Figure 2 is a View partly in vertical longitudinal manner, on the control box it, as the binding post section and partly in side elevation of a control at. The usual welding electrode 35 is connected g5 box forming part of my invention and illustratby a lead 32 to one or the other of the binding ing magnetic throttle and governor controlling posts 26, 29, 38, as occasion may require, dependmechanism and timing means housed therein. ing upon the size of the electrode used and our- Figurei} is a view in vertical section of said rent requirements. As will be understood, the timing means. described connections of the coil 59 to the hind-- 5Q Describing now the illustrated embodiment of ing posts it, 29 and 30 provide for using a greatto my invention, with reference to the drawings by er or lesser number of convolutions of said coil numera s, 5 designates the usual ter a oomto prevent overheating of the latter when weldbustion engine of a well known type of portable ing steadily with a current of high amperage. welding machine mounted on a base 2, 3 the car- Pivotally mounted on the lower arm 2! of the is buretor, and 4 the governor. The details of concoil 20, as by a bracket 33 and pivot pins 34, is

an upstanding lever 35 extending at its upper end through a slot 36 in the top of the control box Hi and movable in one direction by the magnetic attraction of the upper arm of the coil 20. The upper end of the lever 35 is operatively connected, in this instance, to the beforementloned governor lever 6 so that upon movement of said lever 35 under the influence of the electro-magnet l9, said governor lever 6 will be rocked in the proper direction to open the carburetor throttle valve, not shown, through the medium of the described link and throttle valve lever 5. The operating connection takes the form of a rod 31 pivoted, as at 38, to the upper end of the lever 35 and slidably mounted at its free end in a sleeve 39 pivotally connected, as at 40, to the governor arm 6. A nut 4| threaded upon the rod 31 and a compression spring 42 interposed between said nut and the sleeve 39 provide a yielding connection between the rod 31 and sleeve 38 whereby movement of the lever 35 under the attraction of the magnet |9 yieldingly operates the governor lever 6 for the purpose previously set forth. The purpose of the described yielding connection is to provide for independent operation of the governor lever 6 in opposition to the lever 35, for instance, if the engine should attain a speed above that required for welding purposes, in which event, as will be understood, the governor 4 functions to cut down the speed to welding requirements. Obviously, the speed of the engine I may be finely regulated by manipulation of the nut 4| to compress the spring 42, or decreasing the tension exerted thereby so that opposition to independent operation of the governor lever 5 may be varied thereby varying its throw and consequently the extent to which the throttle lever 5 is operated thereby. Threaded into a sleeve 43 suitably secured to the control box I6 is a thumb screw 44 disposed in the path of movement of the lever 35 to limit movement of the latter in a return direction. A further function of the thumb screw 44 will presently appear.

As will now be seen, when the electrode 3| is brought into arcing relation to the work l2, a circuit is completed through the lead 32, the selected binding posts 26, 29, or 30, then through the portion of the coil l9 related to said binding posts to the binding post 25, then by way of the lead 26 through the generator 9 to ground by way of the lead l3. The appropriate portion of the coil I9 is thus energized and the lever 35 operated in the manner and with the results previously described. As soon as the electrode 3| is removed from arcing relation to the work l2, said circuit is broken. The lever 35 is then returned through the medium of the following timing means.

At the top of the electro-magnet I9 is a casing 45 comprising complemental front and rear sections 46 and 41 secured together in opposed relation by bolts 48 passing through ears 49 on the said sections, respectively, and forming in such relation a circular chamber 50. The front section 46 is provided with a pair or parallel flanges 5| by means of which said casing 45 is mounted, as by'bolt 52, on the upper end 2| of the core 26, with the axis of the chamber 55 in the plane of the lever 35. A bolt 53 is secured as at 54 to one of said flanges 5|, extended through one side all of the control box l6, and adjustably c amped to said side wall by opposed clamping nuts 55, as shown in Figure 2. A rubberf diaphragm 56 is clamped between the sections 46 and 41 to partition-the chamber 56 transversely intermediate its trout and rear sides. A piston rod 51 is pivotally mounted, at one end, as at 58, on the lever 35 to extend between the flanges 5| and through an aperture 59 in the front wall of the casing 45 into the latter. The piston rod 51 has a disc-like head 60 thereon between which and a similar disc 6| on said rod the diaphragm 56 is clamped by a nut 62 threaded on said rod. The rear section 41 of the casing 45 is provided with an inlet port 63 and an outlet port 64, both communicating with the chamber 50 on the rear side of the diaphragm 56, A suitably tensioned ball valve 65 is threaded into the port 64. A needle valve 66 having an inlet port 61 and a valve member 68 is threaded into the inlet port 63 with the member 68 extending through the control box I8 for manipulation exteriorly thereof. A vent opening 69 is provided in the section 46 to release air from the chamber 50 on the front side of the diaphragm 56 and to admit air into said chamber for a purpose presently seen.

Normally the valve member 68 is adjusted to provide for the admission of a small quantity of air therethrough. When the lever 35 is swung, as previously described, into a position to eflect acceleration of the engine I, the piston rod 51 is moved rearwardly in opposition to reaction of the diaphragm 56, therebyexpelling the air from the rear of the chamber 56 through the outlet valve 65 and creating a vacuum in the chamber 50 in the rear of the diaphragm 56. When the electro-magnet I9 is deenergized, as by rupture of the welding arc, said vacuum is broken slowly by leakage of air through the inlet valve 66 under reaction of the diaphragm 56 thereby retarding return of said diaphragm to normal position. The result is that the piston rod 51 and lever 35 are returned slowly by reaction of the diaphragm 56 and the engine I decelerated gradually to idling speed. If the needle valve 66 is fully opened, the speed of the engine is'quickly reduced to idling speed. As will be clear, by adjusting the needle valve member 68, the rate of deceleration of the engine I may be varied in accordance with different operating requirements. By screwing I the hand screw 44 inwardly against the lever 35,

the latter may be locked against return so that the described control means may be rendered ineffective as regards return of said lever. Thus, when the engine is cold, it may be kept running at welding speed until it is warmed up, or at a higher idling speed if desired.

Adjusting screw 44 may also be used to change idling speed without changing the welding speed, as will be clear. This adjustment gives a wide range of idling speed and is an important feature of my invention.

The foregoing constitutes a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, and it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages thereof will be clear therefrom with-' out further explanation.

It is to be understood that other modifications in the relation of parts described, and also in details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the inventive concept disclosed,

and right is herein reserved to all such modifications falling within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. Speed control mechanism for a power plant including an internal combustion engine, a carbureter for said engine, a generator, and a normally open load circuit supplied by the generator, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally mounted at one end for movement in opposite diver in the opposite direction when the electromagnet is deenergized, and means to retard the action of said tension means.

2. Speed control mechanism for a power plant including an internal combustion engine, a carbureter for said engine, a generator, and a normally open load circuit supplied by the generator,

said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally mounted at one end for movement in opposite directions, connections between the other end of said lever and carbureter whereby movement of said lever in opposite directions controls the said carbureter to accelerate and decelerate the engine respectively, means for moving the lever in one direction including anelectromagnet in said circuit energized and deenergized by closing and opening of said circuit respectively, means for moving said lever in the opposite direction with a retarded action including a casing having a chamber therein, a diaphragm in said casing flexible in one direction to create a partial vacuum in the chamber on one side thereof and reactive from its flexed position, a piston rod operatively connecting said lever to said diaphragm whereby movement of said lever by the electromagnet flexes saiddiaphragm and reaction of the diaphragm moves the lever when the magnet is deenergized, and a valve in said casing for relieving the partial vacuum insaid chamber.

3. Speed control mechanism for a power plant including an internal combustion engine, a carbureter for said engine, a generator, and a normally open load circuit supplied by the generator, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally mounted at one end for movement in opposite directions, connections between the other end of said lever and carbureter whereby movement of said lever in opposite directions controls the said carbureter to accelerate and decelerate the engine respectively, means for moving the lever in one direction including an electromagnet in said circuit energized and deenergized by closing and opening of said circuit respectively, means for. moving said lever in the opposite direction with a retarded action including a casing having a cham-- ber. therein, a diaphragm in said casing flexible in one direction to create a partial vacuum in the chamber on one side thereof and reactive from its flexed position, a piston rod operatively connecting said lever to said diaphragm whereby movement of said lever by the electromagnet flexes said diaphragm andreaction or the diaphragm moves the lever when the magnet is deenergized a valve in said casing for relieving the partial vacuum in said chamber, and settable means for variably controlling the degree of movement of said lever to correspondingly vary the control of said carbureter by the same.

ALVIN F. BRUNKOW. 35 

